Hi all! It’s December! I have been a bit absent with blogs lately as I have been busy taking care of Cadi (#momlife). Cadi started full on walking at 12 months and is now SPRINTING around the house, and that means I spend a lot of time chasing her and not a lot of time sitting with my computer.
I have been working on brainstorming more blog post topics that would be helpful for a large number of models, and I think this one might be useful! I love watching models grow and change, and occasionally “blow up” or “make it.” That’s the dream for some, right? Whether you want to be famous or not, you should want to advance in some way or another. I’m here to point out a few things that definitely hold models back.
1- You don’t have clear goals. If you don’t have a list of modeling goals written down somewhere now is the time to make one and put it somewhere you will see it often. I talk to a lot of newer models and many have trouble defining what they want out of their modeling careers, should they decide to pursue modeling as a stream of income. The go to answer seems to be, “I just want to be a model.” Simply “being” a model won’t get you anywhere, though. Why do you want to be a model? Who or what do you want to model for? What genres do you want to model? Do you want to model for boutiques? For small local businesses? Are you wanting to be a spokesmodel for athletic brands? Or do you want to be a famous online content creator? If you want to advance in your modeling career you need to know where you want to go and actively be working on getting there.
2- Your work does not make sense or does not tell a story. Going off of my previous bullet point- as fun as it is to “just create,” you should think of every shoot as a chance to show off your skills. Each shoot that you do says something about you. It is very easy to tell when a shoot concept was either not thought out well or rushed to be put together. Overlooked details stick out like a sore thumb. It can be really fun to mix genres, but make sure that your concept is well thought out. You don’t want your work to look corny when you are trying to present yourself as a professional. Even though you might think those sassy poses in front of the dumpster are cool, the client you just submitted those photos to probably won’t agree. You want your posing, facial expressions, and wardrobe to tell a story. The goal should be to get people to connect with you (or the product, the clothing, the location, etc). That brings me to my next point…
3- You are lacking a variety of facial expressions. This is such a downfall for some and it can be such an easy fix. Too many aspiring models only have one “face,” and I think you know the one I am talking about. It’s the sexy, pouty, open mouth, pursed lips face. I have been at product shoots and seen models make this face when they are supposed to be smiling. And it. Is. Cringe-y.
One of the first things I learned when I started modeling was to “smile” with my eyes. You can do so much simply by changing the eyes. Similarly, you can show a lot of emotion by changing what your mouth is doing. Great models do not have one facial expression. That isn’t interesting. Sit yourself in front of the mirror, turn on some music, and work on your facial expression.
4- You have bad posing habits. Don’t worry! This can be fixed really easily with some coaching (and I would love to help you out!). We have all seen those photos that would be SO much better without an elbow coming out of the model’s stomach, or the hand emerging from the butt, or the two fingers behind the head. What gives? Are these slip ups the photographer’s fault? Not necessarily. Professional models should be able to position themselves relative to the camera and know the angles they need to be at in order to produce stunning imagery. This takes a lot of practice, so don’t be hard on yourself if you have just started. I’ve done this for a long time and still slip up from time to time.
To add, it is probably in your best interest to not use photos that have weird posing flaws. They can be distracting. If you did a TFP shoot with someone and you aren’t happy with the edits they sent, ask if you can choose different photos.
5- You have a large ego and/or you are difficult to work with. Turning your nose up at great opportunities for personal growth simply because you think you are too cool with 3k (or 100k!) followers on social media can really screw you over. This is a very unforgiving industry. What it really comes down to in the end is who you know. If all you are doing outside your own shoots and work is putting people down, poo-pooing hobbyist photographers who ask to work with you TFP, and sitting on your pedestal of Instagram likes, I’ve got some news for you and you probably won’t like it. You will soon earn a reputation that you aren’t nice, aren’t professional, are rude, etc., and that is a very deep hole you won’t want to try to get out of.
Because you probably can’t get out of it.
Modeling is cool… really cool (I told myself this as I sat on a toilet filming a commercial for a butt wipe product a few years ago)… but being a model doesn’t give you any special privilege over other people. You’re just a model. There are so many of us! No matter who you are, there will always be someone better than you and you can be replaced at the drop of a hat. Stay humble. You never know how someone else could affect your career positively, so don’t put people down.
